ALS signed “John Lennon, jai guru dev,” one page, 7.5 x 11, Spiritual Regeneration Movement Foundation of India letterhead, no date [circa April 1968]. Addressed from the Rishikesh ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a handwritten letter from John Lennon to a man named S. D. Balla, a self-described ‘poor clerk’ who asked Lennon to send him enough money so he could travel the world and find inner peace. In full:
“Thanks for your letter. — If every request like yours was granted — there would be no ‘huge treasure’ as you call it. You say ‘peace of mind minus all other things on earth is equal to nothing’ — this doesn’t make sense. To have peace of mind one would have to have all that one desires — otherwise where is the peace of mind? Even a ‘poor’ clerk can travel the world — as many people do — including friends of mine some of whom are at this academy now, all equals ‘poor.’ All you need is initiative — If you don’t have this I suggest you try transcendental meditation through which all things are possible. With love, John Lennon, jai guru dev.”
Lennon’s addition translates to ‘I give thanks to the Guru Dev,’ a phrase that appears as a refrain in the Lennon classic ‘Across the Universe.’ Affixed to the reverse are the upper left and right corners of the original Air Mail mailing envelope, which are both addressed in Lennon’s hand: “Maharishi’s Ashram, Rishikesh” and “S. D. Balla, 13D/3342 Sector 22-D, Chandigarh.” In very good to fine condition, with small stains, edge chips, and old reinforcements to the back of the fragile folds.
In February of 1968, a year and a half before their final photo shoot, the Beatles traveled to India to meet and study with the famous guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who had pioneered Transcendental Meditation. They stayed in the small village of Rishikesh in the foothills of the Himalayas, considered the capital of yoga. Immersed in this peaceful community and nurtured by intensive daily meditation, the Beatles underwent a creative growth spurt. The weeks in Rishikesh were immensely beneficial for the band’s song-writing, with many of the songs on the White Album and Abbey Road written during this period. A superlative handwritten John Lennon letter, augmented by its rare Maharishi letterhead, significant musical time period, and Lennon’s words of advice to discover the key to one’s own philosophical vision.
This letter is published on page 123 in the 2012 book The John Lennon Letters.
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